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Rank and organization: Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve. Birth: 15 March 1919,
Charlotte, Mich. Accredited to: Michigan. Citation: For conspicuous devotion
to duty and extraordinary courage and complete disregard of his own life,
above and beyond the call of duty, during the attack on the Fleet in Pearl
Harbor, by Japanese forces on 7 December 1941. When it was seen that the
U.S.S. Oklahoma was going to capsize and the order was given to abandon
ship, Ens. Flaherty remained in a turret, holding a flashlight so the remainder
of the turret crew could see to escape, thereby sacrificing his own life.
This data was extracted from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1863-1973 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1973)
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